Four charged with shoplifting in Rochester

ROCHESTER — Police on Thursday arrested four people in connection with shoplifting at the city’s Walmart and Hannaford.

The three suspects who police say shoplifted at Walmart on Thursday — Dustin Rice, 19, of Lebanon, Maine; Joseph Tavares, 18, of Milton; and Zachariah Kay, 18, of Milton — were charged with willful concealment, which is a Class B misdemeanor.

Rice, Tavares, and Kay were released on $1,500 personal recognizance bail, with arraignment scheduled for March 4, at 8 a.m., at the Rochester Circuit Court.

Kevin Brochu, 23, of East Rochester, was also arrested Thursday, and charged with willful concealment, for allegedly shoplifting at Hannaford. Brochu was released on $500 personal recognizance bail, with arraignment scheduled for March 4, at 8 a.m., at the Rochester Circuit Court.

All four suspects arrested on Thursday allegedly shoplifted items valued at $1,000 or less. According to Police Capt. Paul Toussaint, if the value of items shoplifted exceeds $1,000, willful concealment becomes a felony-level offense.

He said that with the recent increases in reported shoplifted incidents, police have begun publicizing their arrests on willful concealment charges, in hopes of preventing the offense from happening.

Willful concealment is a classification of theft, which involves concealing items in a store with the intent of stealing them.